The 1920s have seen numerous artists settle in the Montparnasse area, transforming it into the major intellectual and artistic center of its time. This group of artists, nicknamed “the Montparnos” have chosen this area as a place to live and celebrate. Pablo Picasso was one of the firsts to settle in the neighborhood.
Nightlife in Montparnasse bars, cafés and clubs has now become legendary. Just to name a few artists who contributed forging the reputation of Montparnasse nights: Soutine, Léger, Modigliani, Léger, Pascin, Braque, Kisling, Chagall, Zadkine, Brancusi, Man Ray and, of course, Foujita. Among writers who lived in the area: Heminghway, Faulkner, Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sartre.
Famous Personalities who have lived in Hotel Odessa
The painter Leonard FOUJITA settled in 1913. The artist Jean Cocteau described as the “Lewis Caroll of painting” was born in 1886, in Tokyo, Japan under the name of Tsuguharu Fujita. He died in 1968 in Zurich.
Beaufort DELANEY lived in our hotel in 1953.
The abstract expressionist painter was born in 1901, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He died in Paris in 1979.
Les amis de Beauford Delaney
Famous revolutionary Leon Trotsky spent a few nights at our hotel in 1914. Born under the name of Lev Davidovitch Bronstein in 1879 in Ukraine, he was murdered in 1940 in Mexico DF, Mexico.
Arts in Montparnasse
The neighborhood has been an intellectual and artistic center of Parisian life from the beginning of the 20th century, reaching its peak during the inter-war years. The area is filled with art studios—still in use or restored—which can be admired just near the hotel.
For instance, you can visit La Cité des Arts, a calm and verdant dead end which has welcomed many of the great artists of modern art: Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Cocteau as well as many others have lived within its walls.
Located at the bottom of the dead end, a small museum brings back the splendor of these days.
Famous people buried in Montparnasse Cemetery
Writers/Poets : Émile ZOLA, Guy de MAUPASSANT, Charles BAUDELAIRE, Eugène IONESCO, Marguerite DURAS, Joseph KESSEL, Carlos FUENTES, Jean-Paul SARTRE, Simone DE BEAUVOIR…
Artists/sculptors : Antoine BOURDELLE, MAN RAY, SOUTINE, Tristan TZARA, ZADKINE, BRANCUSI,…
Musicians : Serge GAINSBOURG, Serge REGGIANI…
Filmmakers : Jacques DEMY, Henri LANGLOIS, , Gérard OURY, Alain RESNAIS, Yves ROBERT, Eric ROHMER, Maurice PIALAT…
Actors : Philippe NOIRET, Jean POIRET, Jean SEBERG…
Cartoonists/journalists : REISER, WOLINSKI…
Politicians : Edgar QUINET, Alfred DREYFUS, Raymond POINCARE, Stéphane HESSEL…
Brittany in Montparnasse
It is also a well-known fact that many people from Brittany have settled in the Montparnasse area. For decades, they have been coming by train, opening creperies around the hotel.
The first station used to be located on the Place de Rennes (currently the Place du 18 Juin 1940), where the Galeries Lafayette stores now stand. When they went out of the station, it proved difficult for women to get in a car!
The Montparnasse area was the point of entry for most of the people from Brittany: the Brittany parish holds its meetings at the Rue Mayet, rue du Montparnasse, rue Falguière, and Boulevard Raspail. The home of the Maison du Peuple Breton is located at 9 rue de Bagneux and at 112 rue de Vaugirard, where the Abri Sainte-Anne is also located. It is also worth mentioning the Mission, the Brittany Social Care Institution and the Ti Jos.
Previously
In the early 20th century, the building hosted a hotel that offered central heating, electricity and hot water at every story.
The Hotel Odessa Montparnasse aims at preserving this authentic and convivial environment, making your stay here a true Parisian experience.
